Remarks by President Barack Obama at the presentation of the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights awards to WOZA

THE PRESIDENT: “Thank you so much. Thank you. Please, everybody have a seat. Everybody have a seat.
What a wonderful evening. Before I begin, let me just acknowledge some folks here in the crowd. First of all, Ms. Kerry Kennedy, for the great work that she’s doing day in and day out.

Mr. Philip Johnston, thank you to both of you for helping to organize this tonight. Obviously I’ve got to say thanks to my favorite people –
Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy, also known as Ethel Kennedy. (Applause.) To Representative Donald Payne, Representative Gregory Meeks, and Representative Edward Markey, who are all here — thank you for your attendance and your support of this important award.
You know, every year for 24 years, starting the year this award was established, my friend, Senator Edward — Ted — Kennedy, spoke at this event. And I’m told that he looked forward to it all year — that he relished the chance to shine a bright light on an injustice and on those fighting it, and to support them in that fight. He also enjoyed a family reunion. He relished the chance to pay tribute to those carrying on the unfinished work of his brother’s life — work that for nearly half a century in the U.S. Senate he made his own.
He was pleased that this award honored men and women across the globe doing a wide range of urgent work — fighting to end apartheid, advance democracy, empower minorities and indigenous peoples, promote free speech and elections and more. Because Ted understood that Bobby’s legacy wasn’t a devotion to one particular cause, or a faith in a certain ideology — but rather, it was a sensibility. A belief that in this world, there is right and there is wrong, and it is our job to build our laws and our lives around recognizing the difference.
A sensitivity to injustice so acute that it can’t be relieved by the rationalizations that make life comfortable for the rest of us — that others’ suffering is not our problem, that the ills of the world are somehow not our concern.
A moral orientation that renders certain people constitutionally incapable of remaining a bystander in the face of evil — a sensibility that recognizes the power of all people, however humble their circumstances, to change the course of history.
Those are the traits of Bobby Kennedy that this award recognizes — the very traits that define the character and guide the life of this year’s recipient. And while we feel a certain sadness that Senator Kennedy is not with us to honor her, let us also take pleasure tonight in knowing just how much he would have loved and admired Magodonga Mahlangu and the organization that she helps lead — WOZA, which stands for Women of Zimbabwe Arise, and is represented tonight by one of its founders, Jenni Williams.
As a young girl raised in Matabeleland — in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe in the early 1980s, Magodonga witnessed the — I’ve got to make sure I get this right — Gukurahundi massacres — the systematic murder of many thousands of people, including her uncle and several cousins — many of whom were buried in mass graves that they’d been forced to dig themselves.

She witnessed the fearful silence that followed, as talking about these events was forbidden. Magodonga found this to be intolerable.

She wanted to speak out — she wanted people to know the truth about what was happening in her country.
So it was a revelation when, years later, she discovered a group called WOZA whose mission is the very opposite of silence. WOZA was started back in 2003 to empower women to speak out about the issues affecting their families and their country — desperate hunger; crumbling health and education systems; domestic violence and rape;
and government repression ranging from restrictions on free expression to abduction and murder of dissidents.
WOZA’s guiding principle is “tough love” — the idea that political leaders in Zimbabwe could use a little discipline. And who better to provide that than the nation’s mothers? Since its founding, the organization has grown from a handful of activists to a movement of 75,000 strong. There’s even a men’s branch, I understand — MOZA.
And over the past seven years, they have conducted more than a hundred protests — maids and hairdressers, vegetable sellers and seamstresses, taking to the streets; singing and dancing; banging on pots empty of food and brandishing brooms to express their wish to sweep the government clean.
They often don’t get far before being confronted by President Mugabe’s riot police. They have been gassed, abducted, threatened with guns, and badly beaten — forced to count out loud as each blow was administered. Three thousand WOZA members have spent time in custody or in prison, sometimes dragged with their babies into cells.
Magodonga and Jenni are due back in court on December 7th, charged with “conduct likely to cause a breach of [the] peace.” They face a five year sentence if convicted.
That so many women have decided to risk and endure so much is in many ways a testament to the extraordinary example of tonight’s honoree.
Each time they see Magodonga beaten back — beaten black and blue during one protest, only to get right back up and lead another — singing freedom songs at the top of her lungs in full view of security forces — the threat of a policeman’s baton loses some of its power.
Each time her house is searched, or her life is threatened, or she’s once again arrested — more than 30 times so far — she continues to stand in public and inspire the people of Zimbabwe — the power of the state then seems a little less absolute.
Each time she has emerged from incarceration after enduring deplorable conditions and brutal abuse — and gone right back to work – the prospect of prison loses some of its capacity to deter.
By her example, Magodonga has shown the women of WOZA and the people of Zimbabwe that they can undermine their oppressors’ power with their own power — that they can sap a dictator’s strength with their own. Her courage has inspired others to summon theirs. And the organization’s name, WOZA — which means “come forward” — has become its impact — its impact has been even more as people know of the violence that they face, and more people have come forward to join them.
More people have come to realize what Magodonga and the women of WOZA have known all along: that the only real way to teach love and non-violence is by example. Even when that means sitting down while being arrested, both as a sign that they refuse to retaliate, absorbing each blow without striking back — and a warning that, come what may, they’re not going anywhere.
They even manage to show love to those who imprison them. As Jenni put it, “Many a time we have in effect conducted a ‘workshop’ for our jailers, acting out the role of a mother and teaching how the country can be rebuilt if we have love in our hearts.”
When asked how they can endure so much violence — and what keeps them going in the face of such overwhelming odds — the women of WOZA reply, simply: “each other.”
And that may be Magodonga’s greatest achievement — that she has given the women of Zimbabwe each other. That she has given people who long for peace and justice each other. That she has given them a voice they can only have collectively — and a strength that they can only have together.
They are a force to be reckoned with. Because history tells us, truth has a life of its own once it’s told. Love can transform a nation once it’s taught. Courage can be contagious; righteousness can spread; and there is much wisdom in the old proverb: that God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.
In the end, history has a clear direction — and it is not the way of those who arrest women and babies for singing in the streets. It’s not the way of those who starve and silence their own people, and cling to power by threat of force.
It is the way of the maid walking home in Montgomery; the young woman marching silently in the streets of Tehran; the leader imprisoned in her own home for her commitment to democracy.
It is the way of young people in Cape Town who braved the wrath of their government to hear a young senator from New York speak about the ripples of hope one righteous act can create.
And it is the way that Magadonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams and the women and men who take to the streets of Harare and Bulawayo and Victoria Falls because they love their country and love their children and know that something better is possible.
Bobby Kennedy once said, “All great questions must be raised by great voices, and the greatest voice is the voice of the people — speaking out — in prose, or painting or poetry or music; speaking out — in homes and halls, streets and farms, courts and cafes — let that voice speak and the stillness you hear will be the gratitude of mankind.”
Magodongo and WOZA have given so many of their fellow citizens of Zimbabwe that voice — and tonight, we express our gratitude for their work.
It is now my pleasure to join with Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy to present the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award to Magodonga Mahlangu and WOZA.”

Healthcare bill passes first Senate test…

With a 60-39 vote last night the U.S. Senate passed the procedural hurdle to move  HR 3590   The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to the floor for debate sometime soon after Thanksgiving. This procedural vote only begins the real debate on healthcare which will be debated and amended over the next two months. This is where Majority Senate leader Harry Reid needs to keep the debate moving and not get bogged down. Certainly there will be concessions to the bill because a few  democrats are announcing they will not vote to pass the current bill.

Personally I look at this as what has been tagged the “The Good Fight” yes I want affordable health insurance that I can trust to be there when I need it and I have the piece of mind knowing I can’t be just dropped when I’m most vulnerable and yes I want quality healthcare access for all Americans. To get quality healthcare in America you must have health insurance to visit a doctor not an emergency room. Many folks are unable to go see a doctor for minor ailments that become serious problems down the road that require hospitalization. The cost of healthcare can be enormous and once you find yourself in an emergency room your already a few thousand dollars in the hole when you walk into the door. After seeing an emergency doctor and being treated if you need minor surgery or treatment it can be in the 10’s of thousands of dollars. Saddled with healthcare bills can be a nightmare and healthcare collectors can be ruthless in going after unpaid healthcare bills from Americans.

This bill is not socialism for one 85% of Americans will be buying insurance this not a free ride. The goal is to provide affordable health insurance for all Americans and subsidize and provide assistance to Americans that can’t afford to buy health insurance. Also to pass laws that will outlaw discrimination for Americans that are denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions and one of the biggest problems is the practice by health insurance companies to drop coverage or deny treatments once you become seriously ill. This practice is only to save the insurance company money who smiled when you paid every month and you were healthy but once you lose work and need hospitalization and aftercare treatments they pucker up and soon they aint your friend no more.

Well healthcare reform “The Good Fight” which has been put forth as far back as Teddy Roosevelt, Truman, Johnson, Nixon,and Clinton has a real shot at becoming something that isn’t a theory or some abstract thought but a piece of real legislation that will become a document to be adhered to and be set of laws and guidelines that will improve all Americans lives.

Schoolhouse Rock- How a Bill Becomes a Law:

“Invoking the memory of Edward M. Kennedy, Democrats united Saturday night to push historic health care legislation past a key Senate hurdle over the opposition of Republicans…”

AP News Story

I have to presume that “invoking the memory of Edward M. Kennedy” is a code phrase for “getting drunk.” If so, I applaud the Senate for making sensible use of a Saturday night for the first time in weeks.

The late Mr. Kennedy has been sober almost three months now, a record no one in his family ever thought he would achieve.

I worked with Sen Kennedy some years ago. He was drunk the entire time.

Dec. 8 – Interesting Note for Massachusetts College Students

Because of the strange timing of this election – after Thanksgiving – Massachusetts does allow on the spot absentee voting.

So, if you are going home to Massachusetts for the holiday, you just have to stop by your town hall or city clerks office and you can fill out your absentee ballot right there and then. No hassle with the post office or anything. Just don’t go on Thanksgiving Day, the office will be closed.

Dec. 8 – Massachusetts Senate Primary

This is the big race of the Special Election Season. Massachusetts has the immense task of filling the seat of the late Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy who held the seat since 1962 until his death this past fall. This election will also mark the first time that  a Kennedy has not filled the seat since John F. Kennedy first won the seat in 1952.

Contested Senate primaries are a rare thing for Democratic voters in Massachusetts. The other senator, John Kerry, has held his seat since 1984.

Click here to request an absentee ballot in this race. To find out where you vote on election day, click here. This is somewhat of a confusing election so any questions on how to vote for this election that you may have will be quickly answered in the comments.

Special Note – Massachusetts has same-day reregistration, so if you are registered as an unenrolled voter (Massachusetts does not have independent registration), you can still vote in the primary of your choice.  If you re-register for that party on the day of the election, you are allowed to vote in that party’s primary. As soon as you have voted, you may unregister yourself from the party and return to being unenrolled

Democrats have 4 candidates running in the primary, while Republicans have 2 to choose from.

Democrats

Congressman Michael Capuano is attempting to move from the House to the Senate in his run for this office. Currently representing the 8th district in Massachusetts which spans parts of Boston as well as Cambridge, Somerville and Chelsea, Capuano is one of the most liberal members of congress and has served since 1999. To visit his website, click here.

Current Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley has emerged as the leader in recent polls as well as in fundraising. Born in North Adams in the far west of the state, Coakley is the only candidate to have run a state-wide campaign before. She was elected as Middlesex District Attorney in 1998 where she served 8 years and was elected Attorney General in 2006. To visit her website, click here.

Alan Khazei co-founded one of the most successful service programs in the United States and he is looking to bring this experience to Washington. His program, City Year, brings together young people to become active in their community and work for service organizations. Currently the CEO of Be the Change Inc., another well-renowned non-profit organization, Khazei is seeking his first elected office. To visit his website, click here.

As co-owner of a successful sports franchise, Steve Pagliuca is looking to transition from the business world to representing Massachusetts in the Senate. Since 2003, he has owned part of the Boston Celtics and spent much of his career working for Bain Capital, a private equity firm. To visit Pagliuca’s website, click here.

Republicans

Party leaders have coalesced around Scott Brown, one of only 5 Republican State Senators out of a legislative body of 40. Representing a district centered around Wrentham, Brown was first elected in 2004 and is one of the most well-known Republican politicians in Massachusetts. To visit his website, click here.

Hoping to upset the party’s wishes is Jack E. Robinson, a frequent candidate who was the Republican candidate against Senator Kennedy in 2000. An outspoken conservative with a series of controversial events in his past, Robinson entered the race at the end of October and will have only a little more than a month to catch up. To see his website, click here.

To find out more about the the Democratic Primary, visit www.bluemassgroup.com

Ladies and gentlemen, your morning headlines (with a side-serving of opinion):

- Before his death, Senator Edward M. Kennedy put his support behind legislation that would give financial aid to the elderly and the disabled in paying for in-home assistance in order to do everyday tasks.  This bill, called the Community Living Services and Support Act (CLASS), would effectively create an insurance plan of sorts that would keep senior citizens and the disabled away from nursing homes.

Now, why am I bringing up this legislation, that was proposed in 2006?  Well, first thing is, the provision in this legislation for the “keep-seniors-and-disabled away from nursing homes” insurance plan has been included in Senate health care “reform” legislation that has passed earlier this year from the Senate Health Committee.  And then, there’s the fact that this provision might end up in the health care “reform” legislation that passes from the Senate possibly by the end of this year.

Think about it, if health care “reform” passes from Congress with this, not only will taxpayers have to contend with the wasteful “public option,” along with the “public option for seniors” that we already have (Medicare), but now, taxpayers will have to contend with this:

“… the CLASS Act fund would collect monthly premiums, estimated to be $65 in 2011, from the wages of all working Americans, unless they elect to opt out – a technique used to help drive participation.”

Article:  “Kennedy’s disability plan could snag health bill,” from The Washington Times.

Link:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/11/kennedys-proposal-could-stall-health-bill/

- Senator Jim DeMint has put his finger on a big problem:

“Sen. Jim DeMint says Washington politicians are like fruit on the vine: the longer they hang around, the more rotten they get.

“The South Carolina Republican – hearkening back to the days of the party’s “Contract with America” – on Tuesday offered a fix to the corrupting influence of “permanent politicians,” introducing an amendment to the Constitution that would limit Senate members to three six-year terms and House members to three two-year terms.”

You know, I always found it very strange that we have term limits for Presidents and governors and the like, but we don’t impose any such term limits on the most corrupt politicians in America- our men and women in Congress.  It’s about time someone thought of this.

Article:  “DeMint tries to ban ‘permanent politicians’,” from The Washington Times.

Link:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/11/demint-revives-bill-to-ban-permanent-politicians/

- In September of 2007, security guards from the mercenary firm Blackwater Worldwide (now renamed Xe), a firm that has experienced tremendous growth under the Bush Administration since 2001, fatally shot some 17 Iraqi citizens in the capital of Baghdad.  The New York Times today has revealed that top employees at the firm have approved of secret payments totalling up to $1 million to Iraqi officials 3 months after the incident in December. The payments were intended to, in effect, silence these officials from criticizing the incident and to buy their support for the firm. 

The Time’s article also says that Blackwater has also made payments to Iraqis wounded in the incident.  Thankfully, some of them did the right thing- joining in the taking of Blackwater to court in a civil suit concerning the issue.  And that’s not to mention all of the criminal charges against individuals involved in the incident and investigations into the firm itself.

Article:  “Blackwater Said to Pursue Bribes to Iraq After 17 Died,” from The New York Times.

Links:  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/world/middleeast/11blackwater.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=todayspaper

- Some news on the War in Afghanistan:  Three top advisers of President Barack Obama are pushing for an increase of troops in Afghanistan- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and, yes folks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Apparently, even with that, Mr. Obama is still taking his time on the issue, still wraping his mind around four options to take in regards to the situation:

“Three of the options call for specific levels of additional troops. The low-end option would add 20,000 to 25,000 troops, a middle option calls for about 30,000, and another embraces Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s request for roughly 40,000 more troops. Administration officials said that a fourth option was added only in the past few days. They declined to identify any troop level attached to it.”

Mr. Obama will explore these four options with his national security team today.  One can hope that he quickly brings an end to all of this “thinking” and actually start some “doing”- our men and women in uniform dying over in Afghanistan depend on it.

Article:  “3 Top Obama Advisers Favor Adding Troops in Afghanistan,” from The New York Times.

Link:  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/world/asia/11policy.html?hp

- And lastly, a look at the polls, courtesy of Talking Points Memo:

“President Barack Obama still has the approval of a majority of Americans, but it’s an increasingly pessimistic nation.

“People were gloomier about the direction of the country than in October. They disapproved of Obama’s handling of the economy a bit more than before. And, perhaps most striking for the commander in chief, more people have lost confidence in Obama on Iraq and Afghanistan over the last month. Overall, there’s a malaise about the state of the nation.”

Overall, there’s a malaise about the state of the nation.  Gee, I wonder why?  Really, with all the wasteful government spending going on right now, politicians in government trying to push health care “reform” and other big spending initiatives on American taxpayers, and Mr. Obama’s dithering on Afghanistan, I really wonder why?

Article:  “AP-GfK Poll: A grouchy public sticking with Obama,” from Talking Points Memo.

Link:  http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2009/11/ap-gfk_poll_a_grouchy_public_sticking_with_obama.php?ref=fpa

*Thank you, all veterans, for your service to our nation.

-D.R.L.

*If you like what you read, don’t forget to subscribe to the Feedburner feed and check out the columns and articles throughout the day on the Midweek and Sunday Memos.  Cheers!

I’ve posted before about Arlington, when Senator Edward Kennedy died. He was about to be buried there and I was about to go to the States. I got to see his grave, the one of his brother Robert and the eternal flame and marker at the grave of John F. Kennedy.

John Kennedy’s grave and those of his wife and two of their children occupy a privileged spot. Up the hill, there is the Arlington House with the flag flying at half-staff.

Down, there is the city. Just in front there is the Arlington Memorial Bridge and at the end of it, the Lincoln Memorial.

The Tomb of the Unknowns is part of the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater.

The Memorial Amphitheater has hosted state funerals and Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies. Ceremonies are also held for Easter. About 5,000 people attend these holiday ceremonies each year. The structure is mostly built of Imperial Danby marble from Vermont.

TRUE UNCLE SAM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

PUREENERGY312

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?

I WILL START…

FAILURE AND PAIN IS SUCCESS BUT NOBODY WANTS TO TAKE THE CLASS.

 I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HERE YOUR IEDAS.

THANK YOU

SAMUEL DANIEL LOVELESS

S.D.L.

PUREENERGY312

TRUE UNCLE SAM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Some books I read hardly seem worth a mention on the blog.  For instance, my last book, The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan was weird weird weird.  I generally like McEwan, but this one just kept getting stranger.  Why didn’t I put it down?  It was only 100 pages long.

My current book does bear mention.  True Compass by Edward Kennedy.  I used to read a lot more biographies than I do now.  Memoirs are an interesting thing though.  Are they just to make themselves look better?  How accurate can they be?  Are they just an exercise in ego?

Teddy’s book is really good.  I haven’t gotten up to the parts of his life where he rather went astray, but so far it has been a good read and very interesting.  His life covered so much history and it’s very interesting to get an inside view.

I’m on page 100 of 500.  Can’t wait to devour the rest.

On March 8, 2009, a few weeks after Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s (D-MA) 77th birthday, a belated birthday and Broadway musical tribute called “Some Enchanted Evening” would be held at the Kennedy Center for the Senate stalwart.  Kennedy himself would be there, as well as just about every other influential body in Washington, including the President.

It was in serious question whether Kennedy would be able to make another public appearance due to his deteriorating health, and that made this night all the more important.

In broadcast news, where everyone is in a scramble to break news first, if there is even slight word that a public official or major celebrity has a deteriorating health situation, an obituary piece is cut in advance.  As time goes on, that obituary piece is retracked, and updated with more current footage if it allows.  This glimpse of the Senator would be, possibly, the last glimpse anyone would ever have.  I was assigned to field produce the event, accompanied by two cameramen and a satellite truck operator, allowing us to turn tape very quickly right there at the event site.

The night began with various red carpet arrivals (as the actual event would not start until right after Nightly’s airtime on the East Coast, this is the only material that would make the first run of the show).  I had field produced the red carpet before (see ‘Alfalfa Dinner’ post), and was met once again with a star-studded cast, as you will see in this Weekend Nightly voiceover below:

But, there was still the West Coast update of the show, and anything of significance to come out of our material of the performance would make that airtime at 10pmET.  The initial bad news that I had to receive as producer was that no one, not even the Travel Pool crew that evening, would get a glimpse of Sen. Kennedy sitting with the President.  The First Family, the Vice President and his wife, and the Kennedy family, would be given balcony seating directly opposite the stage, and all camera crews would be given a head-on shot of the stage, under the overhang.  A visual would be impossible.

So, while my cameraman shot bits and pieces of the performance, I coaxed and cajoled the Kennedy Center press representative.  By the end of the performances, my efforts paid off: the press liaison told our crews to ‘hold on’ a little while beyond the final curtain for what she called ‘a surprise.’

When the final number was over, Bill Cosby (the Emcee for the evening) took the stage and urged a standing ovation for Sen. Kennedy.  Just then, the press liaison told our crews that our restriction was lifted, and that we could disperse into the aisles.  My cameraman was off his tripod like lightning, and shot these moments of Sen. Kennedy and the President.  It was a great get, a hard-fought get, a serendipitous get, and one that made air for the West Coast that evening, made the eventual obit for the Senator, and might’ve made history, as the two’s final public appearance.

GREEN PORTAL - IT'S ALL ABOUT THE APPROACH.

 IT’S ALL ABOUT THE APPROACH.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE APPROACH.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE APPROACH.

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE APPROACH.

!!!

Arlington National Cemetary, eller Arlington nationale kirkegård, er måske en af de mest kendte kirkegårde i USA. Det er den føderale stats kirkegård, hvor præsidenter, generaler, astonauter, højsteretsdommere, opdagelsesrejsende, krigsofre og mange andre er begravet her.

En af de vigtigste grunde til jeg har set frem til at besøge Arlington er for at besøge Kennedy-brødrenes grave. Det er mænd, der har været med til at præge USA i mere end 40 år, på deres forskellige måder.

Da Edward Kennedy døde i august 2009 skrev en dansk avis, såvidt jeg husker, at John Kennedy betagede USA, Robert Kennedy inspirerede USA og Edward Kennedy forandrede USA.

Alle har hørt om John Kennedy, JFK, men i kølvandet på Edward Kennedys død stod det mere og mere klart, at hans reelle indflydelse på USA har været enorm. Den korte forklaring er, at han i mere end 30 år har været en del af de centrale love, der er blevet vedtaget i USA.

Her er billedet, som de fleste kender af John Kennedys grav. Går man nogle få meter mod venstre kommer man til broderen Roberts, og derefter til lillebroderen Edwards gravsted.

Det er utroligt og tankevækkende, at tre brødre på denne måde har været i stand til at gøre en forskel og blive en del af et lands identitet og historie, at de bliver begravet nærmest side om side på hvad der i realiteten er landets heltekirkegård.

Til venstre ser du Robert Kennedys gravsted med det meget enkle trækors og hvide sten. Til højre ser du til venstre i billedet Edward Kennedys grav og til højre i billedet kan du ane det hvide kors over Robert Kennedys grav. Længere til højre ser du en række buske. Bag dem er John Kennedys grav. Så de tre brødre er stort set begravet side om side.

Første gang jeg besøgte USA var omkring 1998. Der købte jeg bogen ‘Make Gentle The Life of This World’ af Maxwell Taylor Kennedy. Det er en af Robert Kennedys sønner, der har samlet citater, som faderen brugte i taler og nedskrev i dagbøger. Bogen giver et inspirerende billede af manden og hans tanker om verdenen og kan kun anbefales, hvis man ønsker et mere nuanceret billede af manden.

“Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope and, crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

Ted Kennedy

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 25, 2009 – The American Association for Cancer Research celebrates the life and legacy of Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.). Over the last half century, Senator Kennedy has stood as a tireless champion in the fight against cancer and was the driving force behind improving health care and research policy in the U.S. Senate.

“Senator Kennedy was a true friend to the cancer research community and he will be remembered with admiration and respect for his extraordinary efforts on behalf of the health and wellbeing of all Americans,” said AACR President Tyler Jacks, Ph.D. “For nearly five decades he stood as an unparalleled champion in the fight against this devastating disease. His efforts will continue to bring us closer to the day when cancer prevention and cures may replace the pain and suffering that many people, himself included, deal with each day around the world. His commitment to our common quest was and will remain an inspiration to us all.”

Senator Kennedy first became a cancer research advocate in 1971, when he helped create the National Cancer Act. He played a vital role in various cancer efforts to date, and most recently took on an effort to revisit and improve cancer research and care. Over the past two years, the AACR has worked closely with Senator Kennedy to create the 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act, which establishes provisions to speed cancer research and the translation of innovative research from the lab to therapies needed at the bedside. He was a champion of government support for basic, translational and clinical research aimed at eradicating cancer.

# # #

The mission of the American Association for Cancer Research is to prevent and cure cancer. Founded in 1907, AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research. The membership includes more than 28,000 basic, translational and clinical researchers; health care professionals; and cancer survivors and advocates in the United States and nearly 90 other countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise from the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer through high-quality scientific and educational programs. It funds innovative, meritorious research grants. The AACR Annual Meeting attracts more than 17,000 participants who share the latest discoveries and developments in the field. Special conferences throughout the year present novel data across a wide variety of topics in cancer research, treatment and patient care. The AACR publishes six major peer-reviewed journals: Cancer Research; Clinical Cancer Research; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics; Molecular Cancer Research; Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention; and Cancer Prevention Research. The AACR also publishes CR, a magazine for cancer survivors and their families, patient advocates, physicians and scientists. CR provides a forum for sharing essential, evidence-based information and perspectives on progress in cancer research, survivorship and advocacy.

Media Contact:

Michele Leiberman
267-646-0622
michele.leiberman@aacr.org

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

Love her or hate her, Sarah Palin, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate, is always a hot topic of conversation in the media. Her memoir, Going Rogue: An American Life, slated for release by News Corp.’s HarperCollins next Tuesday, November 17, is no exception; it’s been making news since the ink dried on the deal made last May.

Going Rogue was one of 10 books selected for massive discounting by Amazon, Walmart, and Target in their ongoing price war. Palin made headlines last month when she revealed that HarperCollins had paid her a $1.25 million “retainer” sometime between January 1 and July 26, the day she stepped down as Alaska governor. Oprah Winfrey has her booked on her show next Monday, which the author will follow with a bus tour to far-flung corners of the country (or as she famously called them during the 2008 campaign, “the real America”). No less than three books about Palin are slated for publication around the same time, including a parody called Going Rouge: An American Nightmare.